Mumbai News Highlights: Court extends police custody of prime accused in Ghatkopar hoarding collapse (2024)

A hoarding collapse in Mumbai's Ghatkopar area had claimed 17 lives. (Express photo by Deepak Joshi)

Mumbai News Highlights: A court extended the police remand by one day of Bhavesh Bhinde, the director of an advertising firm which had installed a hoarding that collapsed in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar area and claimed 17 lives. Bhinde, director of Ego Media Pvt Ltd, was arrested on May 16 from Udaipur in Rajasthan, three days after the illegal 120 ft x 120 ft hoarding crashed onto a petrol pump amid gusty winds and unseasonal rains in the city.

Meanwhile, the Central Railway will operate a 63-hour mega block from May 30 midnight for platform extension works for the Mumbai network, a development that will affect the services of local trains and the work schedule of lakhs of commuters dependent on them. As services of local as well as long-distance trains are expected to remain badly hit during the block period, the railways have appealed to commuters to avoid travelling in local trains, if not necessary.

In other news, complaints pertaining to air pollution in Mumbai have gone up by 305 per cent over the past five years, according to a report published by the Praja Foundation on Tuesday. The report procured data from the BMC’s centralised complaint registration system (CCRS), where citizens lodge complaints on civic issues like pollution, solid waste management, drainage and water supply.

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Mumbai News Live Updates: Kirti Vyas murder case accused sentenced to life; SIT summons Railway ACP in Ghatkopar hoarding collapse case; and more | Follow this space for the latest updates from across Maharashtra!

22:45 (IST)29 May 2024

Dombivli reactor blast an ‘act of God’, says factory owner’s lawyer

The reactor blast at Amudan Chemical Pvt Ltd in Dombivli MIDC on May 23 that killed 10 people and injured 68 could have happened due to the chemical chain reaction caused by the heatwave, in an “act of God”, according to the lawyer of the owner couple of the factory who were arrested in the case.

Defence lawyer Samrat Thakar also presented news articles to the court on Wednesday, regarding how, due to the heatwave, people are dying in some parts of Maharashtra and other states. Read more

11:09 (IST)29 May 2024

Water seepage in coastal road tunnel: CM says no problems, announces opening of north bound second leg on June 10

A recent incident of water seepage inside the tunnels of Mumbai’s Coastal Road has led to a political slugfest in Mumbai with Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator, Aaditya Thackeray taking shots at each other.

Meanwhile, Shinde who was carrying out an inspection visit at the tunnels on Tuesday also announced that the northbound arm of the coastal road will be opened on June 10 for vehicles.

Earlier on Monday, water seepage was seen in the walls of the coastal road tunnels. Meanwhile, officials from the civic body said that the water was seeping from an expansion joint and that there was no leakage.

Some Churchgate-Dahanu local train services cancelled following derailment at Palghar yard

Six up and five down local trains between Churchgate and Dahanu were cancelled, while one train in the down section was short-terminated in Virar, after some wagons of a goods train derailed at the Palghar yard.

13:56 (IST)28 May 2024

Nagpur cops go undercover to survey pubs, bars for violations

With the Pune police pulling up two bars for serving alcohol to the minor accused in the Porsche crash case, cops in Maharashtra's Nagpur went undercover to survey pubs and bars in the city to look for violations, PTI quoted an official as saying.

The police have found several violations such as overcrowding, alcohol being served to minors and lack of CCTVs in certain areas of the bar.

Police Commissioner Dr Ravinder Singal said a detailed report will be filed based on the officers' findings, and notices will be served to the management of pubs and clubs for violations under the Maharashtra Police Act.

13:50 (IST)28 May 2024

In Kirti Vyas murder case, the key clue was found 2 months later

The Kirti Vyas (27) murder case was a challenging puzzle for investigating officers. However, a stroke of luck in the form of a bloodstain found in the boot of a car belonging to Vyas’ colleague at B Blunt provided a crucial breakthrough that cracked the case open. Read more

13:48 (IST)28 May 2024

How the Kirti Vyas murder took place

On March 16, 2018, 28-year-old Kirti Vyas, a finance manager at BBlunt salon in Andheri, set off for work around 8.50 am from her residence in South Mumbai.That was the last day Kirti’s family members saw her.

It was only in May that year, the police claimed a breakthrough when a blood stain discovered in the car driven by the female accused matched Kirti’s parents’ DNA.

Six years later, two of her colleagues were convicted Monday for murdering her. Her body, however, remains missing. Read more details about the case here.

13:45 (IST)28 May 2024

Court sentences two accused to life imprisonment in Kirti Vyas murder case

A sessions court Tuesday sentenced Siddhesh Tamhankar and his female colleague to life imprisonment for the murder of B-Blunt employee Kirti Vyas in 2018. The two were found guilty under charges including murder on Monday.

10:22 (IST)28 May 2024

Weather update: Mumbai likely to witness cloudy skies, light rains today

Mumbai is likely to witness generally cloudy skies with light rains/drizzle on Tuesday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 33 and 29 degrees Celsius, respectively.

10:19 (IST)28 May 2024

Six injured after fire breaks out in Mumbai’s Dharavi area

Six people were injured, out of whom five suffered burn injuries, after a fire broke out in the compound of an industrial estate at 90-feet-road, Qala Kila in Mumbai’s Dharavi.

Ten fire engines were deployed into operation to extinguish the blaze.

The blaze which was extinguished at around 8 am, was confined within two warehousing units inside the compound, and each of these structures were small storage units of around four storeys each, which housed raw materials for garment production.

10:15 (IST)28 May 2024

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Went missing after she left for work: How Kirti Vyas murder took place

On March 16, 2018, 28-year-old Kirti Vyas, a finance manager at BBlunt salon in Andheri, set off for work around 8.50 am from her residence in South Mumbai. She was supposed to take the 9.11 am train from Grant Road to Andheri in the western suburbs.

That was the last day Kirti’s family members saw her. Six years after she went missing, two of Kirti’s colleagues were convicted Monday for murdering her.

Kirti, a qualified chartered accountant and law graduate, had joined B-Blunt’s accounts department in 2012. B-Blunt, co-founded by Adhuna Bhabani, a celebrity hairstylist and former wife of actor-producer-director Farhan Akhtar, requested Akhtar and other celebrities to utilise social media in the quest for information on Kirti.

Read the full story here.

How a bloodstain in a car led Mumbai police to solve the Kirti Vyas murder case

The Kirti Vyas (27) murder case, in which two individuals were convicted by the sessions court on Monday, was a challenging puzzle for investigating officers. However, a stroke of luck in the form of a bloodstain found in the boot of a car belonging to Vyas’ colleague at B Blunt provided a crucial breakthrough that cracked the case open.

Vyas’ female colleague and another colleague Siddhesh Tamhankar, were convicted in connection with the case. While the police had been keeping a close watch on the duo since Vyas disappeared, concrete evidence eluded them until a forensic report provided the necessary proof.